Cocoa Island – Maldives

The Maldives is a chain of 26 coral atolls, 375 miles south west of Sri Lanka, extending across the equator in a north-south strip 468 miles long and 73miles wide. The 1190 low-lying coral islands are so small that dry land makes up less than 5% of the country’s total territory. Indeed the number of islands varies from guide book to guide book – it all depends upon one’s definition of an island. Most locals consider a piece of dry land qualifies if it has vegetation established on it – a sandbank is therefore excluded!

Ninety nine per cent of the country’s territory is made up by sea and only 200 of the islands are inhabited, of which 90 are tourist islands. The islands are rarely more than a metre above sea level and whilst rising sea levels caused by global warming is considered a major threat by many, there are others who argue that coral regenerates and likes to grow just below the surface of the sea, and islands may grow as sea levels rise. However, of greater concern is the risk of storms caused by changing weather patters, which threaten the islands fragile beaches and coral reefs. The islands are not normally affected by storms being in a region that does not normally experience hurricanes. (See When to go, below)

The islands may be idyllic, but the real action is in the sea: there are reefs and lagoons aplenty populated by the most stunning array of brilliantly-coloured fish, with each atoll surrounded by a coral reef, and a reef and a crystal clear lagoon surrounding each island.

Strict local regulation of fishing and commercial exploitation has kept the marine environment in a near-pristine state, but in 1998 the reefs began feeling the effects of El Ninõ. A rise in sea temperature, lasting two weeks, stripped the reefs of a symbiotic algae that caused ‘bleaching’ of the coral polyps. While bleaching can be devastating, most of the Maldive coral reefs emerged unscathed, and it appears the process has not harmed any other marine life. Marine biologists and reef-watchers believe the process to be cyclical and are watching the growth of the new coral with avid interest. In short, the reefs are still a scuba diving and snorkelling wonder world, although they have temporarily lost some of their technicolour splendour.

Though many of the bigger islands look like the picture-perfect, palm-fringed tropical fantasy, most have poor, sandy soil which supports only a limited range of plants – bamboo, pandanus, banana, mangroves, breadfruit trees, banyans, tropical vines and numerous coconut palms. The larger, wetter islands have small areas of rainforest. The main crops are limited to sweet potatoes, yams, taro, millet and watermelon, though a few more fertile islands have citrus fruits and pineapples.

Natural fauna is sparse – giant fruit bats, colourful lizards and the occasional rat. Domestic animals include cats, a few chickens, goats and some rabbits. The most exciting wildlife is under the water. Anyone with a mask and snorkel will see butterfly fish, angel fish, parrot fish, rock cod, unicorn fish, trumpet fish, bluestripe snapper, Moorish idols, oriental sweetlips and more. Larger life forms, eagerly sought by scuba divers, include sharks, stingrays, manta rays, turtles and dolphins.

Tourism
Tourism has been established in the Maldives since 1972, when George Corbin, an Italian entrepreneur, brought 12 guests – mostly travel writers – to what he was convinced was the perfect holiday destination. They found a nation unchanged for decades, 93,000 residents without a single policeman or phone and one car. Within a year a handful of self-contained resorts had opened. By the end of the decade, President Gayoom had passed tourism laws which have safeguarded the islands and ensured the Maldives a cut on any tourism income ever since.

To this date, Italians have dominated the tourism market, preferring Club style resorts where they have exclusivity. The British market has grown rapidly over the last five years and is now the seond largest source of tourists. Being accessible from Europe and Asia, tourist resorts can be very cosmopolitan, with visitors from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Holland, Spain, Germany, France and Russia and many others besides!

With visitor figure reaching 360,000 in 1998 (the local population stands at around 290,000), the 1979 law showed amazing foresight, restricting building to the height of the surrounding trees, stating that trees cannot be cut down without prior permission from the Ministry and that resorts must not take water from ‘inhabited’ islands. In 1982, the new department for tourism (later to become the Ministry) decreed that all the resorts occupy their own self-contained worlds, made of natural materials and free from traffic and crime, catering to modern-day Crusoes with abundant creature comforts.

Getting to Know your Women Fertile Period – Avoid Unplanned Pregnancy

“But we were being careful!” “I was on the pill.” “How could this happen?”
If you find yourself or girlfriend pregnant unexpectedly, you’re likely anxious about the future. Couples who use birth control and still conceive face a situation that calls for thoughtful consideration. Perhaps you’re secretly thrilled about the pregnancy but your spouse hates the idea; maybe you’re alone and not ready to be a single mom; maybe you didn’t want any more kids — whatever the scenario, this new life is depending on you to make wise decisions. The next few months can be full of regret and remorse or they can be full of excitement and anticipation. Which will you choose?

Ovulation means the release of the egg from the woman’s ovary. This keeps good for 12 hours, after which it degenerates. The sperm on the other hand stays good and can survive in the woman’s reproductive tract for 72 hours. So, if the sperm of a healthy bodied male is present in the ova when a healthy bodied woman ovulates, then fertilization occurs and she will become pregnant. This means that, the ideal time to make love is a few days before ovulation or during ovulation. Remember that, since the egg does not survive beyond 12 hours, timing yourselves can be quite challenging and so is to calculate fertile period.

A woman should keep a track of her most fertile period to increase her chances of becoming pregnant. The fertility cycle differs in every woman and even in one woman from cycle to cycle. Therefore, this can be difficult. However, there are ways to determine the fertile time periods in women. Some of these are:

Basal Body Temperature (BBT)

During the ovulation period, a woman’s body temperature increases up to 1.6 degrees. This minute difference can only be measured with a special thermometer, the Basal Body Thermometer. The temperature is taken first thing in the morning when a woman awakes, before she starts any activity.

Calendar

A woman can chart her menstrual cycle on a calendar to know the mostly likely time she will ovulate.

Cervical Mucus

The job of the cervical mucus is to protect the vagina from sperm, bacteria and other organisms. However, during the most fertile period or for some days each month, the texture of the mucus changes to allow the sperm to enter into the fallopian tubes. This can be tracked every month during pregnancy period planning, to indicate your most fertile period.

The above methods only record secondary signs of fertility and are not completely error free, because of infections that you may have, or medication that you may be taking.

Ovulation Predictor Kit And The Fertility Monitor

The fertility monitor records daily fertility levels, based on outcome from urine tests that detect increases in levels of the hormone estrogen and Lutenizing Hormone (LH). These products measure to tell when it may be the best time to conceive.

It is best that if you are planning a pregnancy, you start using one of the above methods to help you calculate your most fertile period. Pregnancy planning can be crucial in bringing a new life into this world.